The invention relates generally to the construction of buildings. More particularly, the exemplary embodiment of the invention disclosed herein relates to residential construction.
The soaring costs of labor and of the materials used in traditional building construction has brought about the demand for sturdy, low-cost structures that may be easily and quickly constructed. This demand is especially acute in developing countries and has thus resulted in the development of various non-conventional construction techniques, and materials, such as pre-fabricated modules, components, and sub-structures. For the most part, however, such developments have not yet achieved an optimum combination of durability, strength and low cost.
According to the structure and methods of the present invention, an improved building construction includes a reinforced concrete wall structure formed by the application of a concrete or cementitious material to an internal wall form composed of an inexpensive sheet material such as corrugated cardboard. The wall forms are located inboard of the foundation to provide a load bearing surface for both inner and outer layers of the concrete material. The outer layer of concrete material extends beyond the upper edge of the foundation at least to the final grade elevation in order to seal the wall from water or insect infiltration. The concrete material is reinforced by previously-erected wire mesh and vertical reinforcing rods anchored at their lower ends in a concrete foundation.
At the upper edge of the wall structure, a series of pre-fabricated roof trusses are interconnected by horizontal tie rods, which form stringers and are integrally cast within the concrete material of the wall. At least at the trusses at the end of the building, the vertical reinforcing rods or studs adjacent the corners of the building structure are operatively connected with the tie rods to reinforce and unify the overall structure. The unique reinforcing structure, in combination with the concrete material, transmits the building load to the foundation, thereby permitting the use of such inexpensive and light-weight wall form materials. A number of truss attachment members interconnect the roof trusses and the wall forms during erection and include means for quickly and conveniently aligning the wall forms both vertically and laterally, thereby ensuring a finished wall that is both straight and plumb.